IIT Real Time Communications 2014: Cloud Track Outreach.

In addition to what’s going on at the event’s home site, I am experimenting with a variety of online communication tools such as innovarista (my blog), an event calendar on Built-in-Chicago and a new group on meetup. Admittedly, I am curious to see how this effort works out, as well as any learning on best practices moving forward. In case you wondered, ongoing twitter, facebook and LinkedIn updates are also part of this mix.

Being this a communication technologies conference, it just makes sense to take advantage of cloud based engagement services. Additionally, I have spent sometime on meetup looking into other groups whose members might be interested in what we are doing. So, I have forwarded an individual request to the various meetup organizers to help spread the word with the following:

“The Chicago Cloud Computing Meetup Group is an informal professional group focused on developing relationships, exchanging ideas, and fostering cloud computing innovation.”

“We provide an open, comfortable environment for fellow cloud computers and newcomers alike to meet and discuss related news, best practices, tips and anything else that might arise in this exciting and rapidly evolving technology niche. We welcome people from all backgrounds, not just IT, to come learn and network in the community.”

“This group will try to meet on the third Wednesday of every month. The location will vary, but it will always be in the Downtown Chicago area, the loop.”

“At CloudCamp, attendees are encouraged to share thoughts in open discussions and short talks. End users, IT professionals and the cloud curious are all encouraged to come! As always, the unconference provides vendor-neutral and unbiased opinions. As a community, we try to answer questions and discuss issues in a fun and educational way.”

“The events are both educational and an opportunity to network with fellow cloud users. We keep vendor sales pitches to a minimum by giving the audience ‘red cards’ – if you don’t like what the speakers are saying send them off! CloudCamp Chicago is part of the global network of CloudCamp events. CloudCamp Chicago is curated and organized by Margaret at CohesiveFT. Look for events every 2 months or so, and suggestions via email / twitter / linkedin always welcome! @CloudCamp_Chi”

“Let’s Collaborate about Collaboration Have you ever gone to a User Group Meeting just to be sold to? Be part of a new UC User Group that you will name, create topics of discussion, have your peers be your SME’s.”

“It doesn’t matter what UC platform you have deployed or are thinking of deploying (or kicking the tires of many). What matters is that you have a successful communications infrastructure strategy that gains employee adoption and provides good ROI. Come prepared to SHARE your challenges and Brainstorm about topics that keep you up at night. Here are some ideas to spark the discussion: Mobility and At Home workforce solution, Defining your workforce needs, Has video redefined your collaboration strategy, Changing workspace, Aha moment, UC as a Service (Cloud) Vs. On-prem, Scalability…”

“Initiated by the Illinois Institute of Technology Real-Time Communications Lab http://voip.itm.iit.edu/ , we are interested in WebRTC API’s, protocols, and applications that support browser-based, real-time, P2P communications.”

“This includes the standarization work underway at the IETF (RTCWeb) and the W3C (WebRTC), as well as the resulting disruptive new use cases, and business models it is creating. If you believe WebRTC is the future of real-time communications, collaborate with us as we create a thriving local community around this emerging technology!

“The Chicago Mobile Meetup Group is an informal professional group focused on developing relationships, exchanging ideas, and fostering mobile technology innovation.”

“We provide an open, comfortable environment for application development enthusiasts to meet and discuss related news, best practices, tips and anything else that might arise in this exciting and rapidly evolving technology niche.”

“We welcome people from all backgrounds, not just IT, to come learn and network in the community.”

“This group will meet on the last Thursday of every month. The location will vary, but it will always be in the Downtown Chicago area, the ‘loop’.

“Join us if you would like to hear about upcoming Tech Talks hosted by Morningstar, Inc. in Chicago, IL.”